The six tourists stayed until the scenic area was about to close before leaving.
Chen Yan, who had spent the whole day cleaning nearby, noticed that the six of them had been complaining non-stop when they arrived. It wasn’t until they reached Yongtong Bridge that they finally quieted down. Yet when they left, they were all talking and laughing with a spring in their step. They were like completely different people compared to the grumpy bunch that had first arrived. This made a hint of contemplation flash in his eyes.
Crying onto the bridge, laughing off it.
It seemed Yongtong Bridge did more than merely stir up melancholic emotions.
On the fourth day, new visitors arrived at the scenic area. They were a few middle-aged men carrying DSLR cameras. They claimed to be from the nearby Heyang City Photography Association. Hearing that there was a well-preserved ancient stone bridge here, they wanted to come and take a look. They were completely uninterested in the rest of the scenic area, but they didn’t say much about it.
However, upon arriving at Yongtong Bridge, their eyes were immediately glued to it. They set up their long and short lenses and started snapping away, their cameras going CLICK CLICK CLICK. As they shot, they muttered among themselves, saying the bridge had such an incredible charm. Standing on it gave them the illusion that time had flowed backward hundreds of years.
Although the foot traffic dropped over the next few days, there were still a few sporadic visitors each day. The daily revenue never hit zero again. This made the light in Chen Yan’s eyes grow brighter and brighter.
He did the math. From the arrival of the female tourist in the Ancient City last Saturday to today, exactly one week had passed. In just seven days, the scenic area’s ticket revenue had reached an unprecedented 950 yuan!
Admittedly, for a scenic area with over 20,000 yuan in monthly expenses, this little bit of income was far from enough. But for the few employees who stayed behind, it was nothing short of a shot of adrenaline!
Sun at the ticket booth had been beaming with joy these past few days. He took the initiative to clean the ticket office inside and out, wiping the glass until it was spotless. Aunt Liu, who was in charge of cleaning, hadn’t been addicted to short videos lately either. Every morning, she took her broom and went out to sweep the streets bright and early. Uncle Zhang was still trying to persuade him to suspend everyone’s wages for a month, telling him to keep the money earned these past few days for himself. If worse came to worst, he suggested Chen Yan could buy a few bags of putty to patch up the peeling walls first.
Everyone saw the changes in the scenic area over the past few days. Though they didn’t know if it would last, they were all silently protecting this hard-won change in their own ways.
Then, Chen Yan received a call from Master Zhao.
West City Street, the head of Yongtong Bridge.
By the time Chen Yan arrived, Master Zhao was already waiting there. He wasn’t just idling, though. He was currently half-crouched, holding a magnifying glass and carefully inspecting the bluestone pavement of the bridge beneath his feet.
Master Zhao’s full name was Zhao Changlin. He was sixty-two years old this year. Since his youth, he had followed Chen Yan’s grandfather, traveling all over the country doing ancient architecture restorations. He had repaired no fewer than a hundred old bridges and broken temples, both genuine and fake. When the scenic area was first built, Master Zhao put in a lot of effort. He knew exactly what structure and materials were used in every building in the entire Ancient City—ten times better than Chen Yan did. Since Chen Yan’s grandfather passed away, he and another old master named Wang had stayed behind. The two of them took turns coming to the Ancient City for a stroll every week.
"Vice President Chen." After crouching on the ground and observing for a long time, Zhao Changlin finally stood up. His voice was kept very low. "Tell me the truth. When did you tear down and rebuild this bridge?"
"I didn’t tear it down." Facing Zhao Changlin, whose expression was serious with a hint of tension, Chen Yan shook his head.
"You didn’t?" Seeing him shake his head, Zhao Changlin couldn’t help but raise his voice. "I just came to this street to take a look half a month ago, and the bridge definitely didn’t look like this then! You’re telling me you didn’t tear it down?"
"I really didn’t." Spreading his hands, Chen Yan looked completely candid. "I swapped it. I swapped out the entire West Bridge for the one standing here now."
"Hey, you little punk...!" Chen Yan spoke with a frank expression, but Zhao Changlin knew that was impossible. He had worked in this industry his whole life. If nothing else, tearing down and swapping an ancient bridge would take at least ten to fifteen days, even with modern machinery. And it was impossible not to leave any traces.
But what about the bridge in front of him? He had just been practically pressing his face to the ground to search, yet let alone traces of a swap, he didn’t even see a single stray speck of mud.
"You brat! Tell this old man the truth. How on earth did you do it?" Feeling a bit anxious, Zhao Changlin glared at him and continued to press for answers.
But he didn’t know that this was exactly what Chen Yan had been waiting for.
"Old Zhao..." Walking to the head of the bridge, Chen Yan stroked the cold stone of the railing, wearing an unfathomable expression. "If I said I had a dream—dreamed that I went to a bridge, and when I woke up, that bridge was right here—would you believe it?"
Hearing this, Zhao Changlin was stunned for a moment before SMACKING Chen Yan right on the forehead. "Stop your nonsense!"
Clutching his forehead, Chen Yan sighed. "I knew you wouldn’t believe it, so I can’t tell you the truth. I really can’t go into detail about how this bridge got here." He paused, his tone turning serious. "But I can guarantee you that it was acquired completely legally and legitimately. As for everything else, you can think whatever you want."
Zhao Changlin had dealt with ancient architecture his entire life. With Chen Yan’s meager level of expertise, trying to fool him was nothing but an idiot’s pipe dream. But there were some things Chen Yan simply couldn’t spell out clearly, so he had no choice but to play the riddler.
Looking at Chen Yan’s serious face, Zhao Changlin’s mouth twitched. He hesitated several times before finally letting out a soft sigh. "Fine, if you don’t want to say it, then don’t. You’re a bit weird, kid, but you’ve always been reliable. I’ve followed you for three years, so I’ll trust you."
With that, he turned back to look at the bridge. The magnifying glass moved inch by inch along the railing, as if he were examining a rare treasure.
"You really gotta admit." After carefully observing it for a good while, Zhao Changlin put away the magnifying glass and nodded. "This bridge is definitely something else. I’ve worked in this trade my whole life. I know whether a stone is truly old the moment I lay my hands on it."
As he spoke, he crouched down again and touched the middle of the bridge path. "Just look at this wear and tear. This kind of curvature—sunken in the middle and flat on the sides—can only be created by people walking on it step by step. No machine could grind out an effect like this! And this..."
The more Zhao Changlin spoke, the more excited he got, spittle flying everywhere. In the end, he suddenly looked at Chen Yan, his tone exceptionally serious. "Like I said, I won’t ask how this bridge got here, but you have to promise me one thing. From now on, I will personally handle the maintenance and upkeep of this bridge!"
"No problem. I’ll leave the bridge in your capable hands from now on." Hearing this, Chen Yan agreed without a second thought.
When it came to experience in maintaining ancient architecture, ten of him added together couldn’t compare to Zhao Changlin, who had worked in the field his entire life. Now that the old man was volunteering to take on the job, he was overjoyed. How could he possibly refuse?
"Alright, you’re not needed here anymore. Hurry up and go do whatever you need to do." Waving his hand at Chen Yan like he was shooing away a fly, Zhao Changlin’s attention was completely captivated by the bridge. He couldn’t wait for the nuisance beside him to leave.